


Cryptic

by Dramaqueenliz



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Camping, F/F, Films, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Implied/Referenced Cheating, Lack of Communication, Mutual Pining, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Pining, Road Trips, alec is there for like five seconds, clary really wants to kiss izzy, so many mentions of bigfoot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-22
Updated: 2017-04-22
Packaged: 2018-10-22 12:48:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10697340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dramaqueenliz/pseuds/Dramaqueenliz
Summary: Clary Fray’s life took a turn for the weird when her roommate, Isabelle Lightwood, burst into her room the day before spring break.aka the road trip/ camping au where Izzy wants to find creatures and Clary needs to make a movie(and maybe kiss Izzy)





	Cryptic

Clary Fray’s life took a turn for the weird when her roommate, Isabelle Lightwood, burst into her room the day before spring break. 

She and Izzy had been randomly assigned as roommates their first year at NYU and became fast friends. Izzy was outgoing, intelligent, interesting, and so beautiful Clary would lose her breath when she walked in the room. After their first year they moved off-campus together. They were majoring in completely different fields, Clary in film and Izzy in biology, yet they always made time to study together. Often, Clary would contemplate what it would be like if they actually started dating. She would let her mind wander to such thoughts until she realized that Izzy had never expressed interest. It was disheartening but Izzy’s friendship meant the world to her and she would never jeopardize it. 

Clary had been sitting in her room listening to music and trying to get inspired for her film project. It was rare for her to get writer’s block. Most of the time her ideas would suddenly pop into her head. She would get flashes of images, snapshots, of scenes that would come together to form a cohesive narrative. This time, however, she was felling utterly uninspired. So, when Izzy barged in a huff with an ex tied grin on her face, waving her phone in the air, Clary was grateful for the distraction. 

“Clary! You’re never going to believe it but that youtube channel I like, you know the one about science and how it relates to us day to day?” Izzy’s dark brown eyes were sparkling like an actual Disney princess. Clary had watched the channel, but only because Izzy enjoyed it so much and Clary loved seeing her eyes so wide in excitement. They did have a very cool episode about how cameras work that Clary did enjoy. 

“Yeah. What about it? Cool video this week?” Izzy sat down at the foot of Clary’s bed. Even though she was sitting, she still appeared to be bouncing, her long dark hair falling over her shoulder. Her grin got even bigger, if possible. 

“Well, actually, they want to start a new side channel. They’re looking for people to create new content for them. They’re holding a competition and whoever sends in the best video gets to be featured on the channel and their segment will appear weekly. There was no real limit on the kind of content and I have an idea. It’s kind of out there. Are you ready?” She rushed through her sentence so fast Clary had to process everything for a few seconds before nodding. Izzy took a Deep breathe and said, “cryptids.” 

Clary probably should have figured that such a unique topic would have led to some weird moments, but in the moment all she could do was give a confused stare to Izzy.   
————  
Somehow Izzy had convinced Clary to spend her spring break driving to the middle of nowhere to try and Bigfoot. Clary had very real doubts about their success, but she figured she could probably use the footage for her project somehow. So, Monday morning Izzy and Clary had packed up their sleeping bags, tent, camera supplies, and food into the back of Izzy’s brother Alec’s truck. He seemed slightly worried that the girls were going to be road tripping alone, but quickly regained confidence in his sister when she reminded him of all the times she kicked his butt sparring in the gym. They had a firm hug goodbye, he nodded to Clary and then the girls were off. Clary had set a camera on the dash to get some footage of the road. As Izzy drove she put another camera out the window to get some alternative shots. However, Izzy was being outlined by the sun and the picture was too beautiful for Clary too ignore. She looked angelic with the sun streaming in behind her and so sure. Clary decided to interview Izzy too so the footage would be useful. 

“So Izzy, how long have you been interested in bigfoot and other creatures like him?” Clary tried her best to sound professional. Izzy got that smile on her face that signaled a passionate speech. 

“Well, I love animals. All kinds of them. So I was always watching shows about them, their behaviors, their anatomy. And sometimes after the show I watched, their would be a documentary about cryptids. I like to think that there’s more to discover out there. Once we thought that squids were mythical creatures and they actually do exist. And what sailors thought of as mermaids were probably manatees. So there is often some truth to these stories. I want to find that truth.” She looked at the camera and gave her widest smile. Clary had never really known anything about cryptids until agreeing to go on the trip. Whether or not they found anything Clary felt like she was going to learn more about Izzy. Izzy turned back to look at the road and Clary did the same. She was always amazed at lovely the rest of New York was. She had gone camping as a child, but not in recent years. She had forgotten how beautiful and open the sky was without large buildings obstructing your view. the green fields stretched out on either side of the freeway. Izzy hadn’t really given a specific on where they were going, just that it was a forest a couple of days drive from the city. They had plans to stay in hotels where they could and camp once they reached the forest. 

“So Izzy, what will you do if you do find Bigfoot?” Clary watched her expression change to a reflective one.

“I’ll probably gauge how friendly he is. See what observations I can make. And we’ll have cameras set up to record what he does. I really want to find these creatures and find ways to properly study them. Give them proper classifications. We should probably stop for the night. The sun is setting and I’d rather not be driving in the dark.” Clary looked out and noticed that the sun had indeed been dipping in the sky. Time had flown by as they drove. Clary got some good shots of the oranges and reds of the setting sun as Izzy exited the freeway into some small town. Clary always found it odd that to her these places only existed for her to pass through. Yet to some this was their home. They knew it as well as Clary knew Brooklyn. And yet, she would never learn anything more than just the motel here. They drove around looking at each option until they decided on the one that looked the nicest and fit within their meager student budget. It was apparent that it was not usual for young women on road trips to stay at these places. They got a single room with two full beds. They perused the room until they were too creeped out. Clary only hoped there were no cockroaches anywhere. She headed into to shower and clean the day of travel off her. The water never truly got hot so she showered quickly. 

She put her pajamas on and threw her hair into a messy bun before heading back out to her bed. Izzy was looking at her phone, but looked up as Clary appeared. 

“Thank you so much for doing this. I know there’s probably better ways you could have spent spring break, but you chose me and that means so much.” Clary sat down and gave her friend a small smile. 

“Iz, you’re the person I’d be with even if we weren’t going camping in the middle of nowhere. I’d be with you no matter where you wanted to spend break. Also, hopefully I’ll get some inspiration on this trip. I’m fresh out ideas. What if I’m not as great as everyone thinks I am. All of my professors expect so much from me. This is one of our last projects and I can’t burn out now. Four years of filmmaking and I can’t think of anything new. Getting a job was going to be hard enough.” Izzy looked at her considering something, her gaze was lingering and Clary felt herself begin to blush. 

“Clary, you’re the most creative person I know. You’ll think of something and it’ll probably end up winning all sorts of awards and I will be so honored to know you. Honestly, I have no idea how you do what you do. Everything you make is magic and so what you’re having a hard time right now. Everyone does. And anyone would be lucky to have you working with them. You’re talented, smart, loyal, a little stubborn but it just means you aren’t afraid to be yourself.” Clary could feel the air shift. For as close as she and Izzy were they rarely talked about their doubts and insecurities. Izzy was always charmed by Clary’s effortless art and Clary was nervous to let her in and tell her that things weren’t that effortless. Izzy’s gaze was so startlingly honest and wise.   
Clary thought they would stay that way for ages if not for the yelling of two people fighting outside. Izzy was startled out of her staring and looked at her phone again. Clary was finally feeling the effects of such a long travel day. She could only imagine how tired Izzy was after a day of driving. 

“Good night Izzy. Remember I’m driving tomorrow.” Clary turned over and heard Izzy’s muffled agreement before sleep overtook her. 

——————-

The girls awoke early the next day eager to get back on the road. Clary figured she wouldn’t get a lot of filming in until they got to the campsite. Focusing on the road ahead was soothing, especially with the soft music in the background. Every so often Izzy would start humming along. Before long they had arrived at the forest. The trees were reminiscent of the New York skyline, filtering the sunlight that streamed to the floor. Clary parked the truck and looked around. The forest was serene, with the occasional sound of an animal scampering somewhere in the brush. Clary got some more shots of the woods before turing the camera back to Izzy. She caught her looking around in awe at the forest and the mysteries it held. 

“What drew you this particular forest miss Izzy?” Izzy finally looked over at the camera and smiled. Clary was grateful for the opportunity to film Izzy. Her features were so photogenic and popped on film. 

“Well there have been multiple sightings of a mysterious creature. So, we’re going hiking and hopefully we’ll see something.” Izzy said it with such confidence Clary almost believed her. But then reality sunk in and she realized that they would probably only deer and squirrels. They spend the next few hours going down different trails. Clary hikes behind Izzy and gets shots of her excitedly running around. She looked like a kid in the candy store. She would pint out different plant species. It was getting dark and Clary could see a stark contrast in Izzy. As the sun started going down so did Izzy’s mood. She would still point out things to Clary and give facts but she was walking slower now. 

“Iz, its getting dark. Do you think we should head back to camp?” Izzy turned back to Clary. She had been silent the last few minutes and Clary could see why. Her eyes were wide and watery. Her lip was trembling and Clary ran right to her. She may have lost her camera along the way, but comforting Izzy was her top priority. She threw her arms around her and felt her shaking sobs. Clary held her tight and ran her hand up and down her back. A few minutes later and Izzy had calmed some. She pulled back and wiped at her eyes. 

“Yeah, let’s go back.” And without another word she turned around and went back down the path, flashlight illuminating the way back to camp. 

————-  
It was late and Clary was almost asleep when Izzy suddenly spoke. 

“My dad’s cheating on my mom.” Clary was gobsmacked. She didn’t know any of Izzy’s family members aside from her brothers, but Izzy clearly adored her father. It was evident in the way she spoke about him. Before she could voice anything Izzy spoke again. “He was moving out this week. That’s my biggest reason for coming out here. I just couldn’t be there anymore. I was watching more animal documentaries and it came to me. I would run back into my childhood and my dreams.” Clary scooted closer to her in the tent and held onto her. 

“Iz. I am so sorry. Thats awful. We can stay out here as long as you need. We don’t ever have to back. We could be tent mates.” Izzy turned into her and threw her arms around Clary’s waist. 

“That means so much. It just hurts because of Max. He’s so young and I don’t like thinking about him going between houses. Out there I realized how ridiculous it is to think you’re just going to catch a video of bigfoot. Maybe we don’t have to be tent mates. We can pack up tomorrow and drive back home.” Izzy squeezed her middle and fell asleep soon after. When Clary thought she was completely asleep she leaned down and placed a tender kiss on the top of her head.  
—————-  
Waking up the next morning with Izzy in her arms was very surreal for Clary. She had imagined how it would feel so many times and now here she was, not quite in the context she always imagined but to feel her was so much better than Clary’s brain could ever dream up. Izzy awoke slowly, scrunching her nose when she realized where she was again. 

“I totally forgot how uncomfortable sleeping in tents are.” Izzy stretched her arms but made no move to escape Clary’s embrace. She looked up at Clary and smiled. “Thank you for humoring me on this wild goose chase. And being the best roommate ever.” Clary couldn’t help but stare at Izzy’s lips and how close they were. She had never been quite so close to her before and the proximity made it harder for her to ignore Izzy’s beauty. Izzy’s smile faded as Clary continued to stare. She felt the energy around them shift. Izzy looked thoughtful. “Clary, just know I am dying to kiss you right now, but I really don’t want our first kiss to happen in this tent, with tangled hair and morning breath.” Clary looked at her for a moment before breaking into laughter. The fact that she had to travel to some unknown forest in search of bigfoot in order to finally open up to the girl she had been pining for and to find out she reciprocated her feelings was quite comical to Clary.   
“You know Iz, we may not have found bigfoot, but we did find an even more elusive cryptid. Our relationship.” Izzy joined Clary in laughing. 

—————————  
(Two weeks later)   
“Clary, are you almost done? I don’t want to be rude and start the show without you, but you also promised you wouldn’t spend all day editing again.” Clary could hear her girlfriend but she was too distracted by what was onscreen to answer her.   
Earlier that day she decided to watch the footage she shot on their camping trip. As they road tripped back home, looking at Izzy holding her hand on the console her vision came to her. This film would be the most personal, but also the most important one. A travel video that was the perfect metaphor for finally opening herself up and allowing people to see her flaws. Once away from the noise and distractions of the city she had figured out what it was she wanted most. Sure she had been upset about her lack of inspiration, but she was more frustrated with her inability to divulge her feelings to Izzy. Izzy had revealed that she too was always interested but also waiting on Clary to make the first move. Her shots on the way up spoke of her pining. All shots of Isabelle were when she wasn’t looking and would turn back to the road the second she looked over. On the way back there were so many shots taken as Isabelle looked at Clary behind the camera. The fondness in her eyes shone through. And when Clary appeared she too looked more carefree. Of course none of their issues went away, Izzy still felt torn between family members and Clary still felt pressure to meet expectations, but for that week they felt invincible. In those cities no one knew them and could only see how much they cared about each other . 

The footage was roughly the same: landscapes, Izzy laughing and smiling. Clary turning the camera on herself, them kissing in the rolling fields, until Clary reached the memory card from the camera that she had dropped in the woods. They had retrieved it the next morning when Clary noted it was missing and it had remained in its bag, until now. The beginning footage was just them checking in at the hotel, the trails and that comforting hug in the forest. Night came and then there it was, a sight that baffled Clary. A figure emerging from the trees that looked nothing like any bear she had ever seen. And, as it picked up the camera, there was no denying it. Bigfoot had been right there. Bigfoot had touched that camera. Clary let out a shriek. 

Izzy barged in looking ready to fight someone and then her eyes focused on the screen and the image it was paused on. And her squeal of excitement rivaled Clary’s. She rushed over and peppered Clary’s face with kisses. 

“My filmmaker actually catching footage of Bigfoot! I’m so proud.” Clary started laughing until a thought hit her. 

“If I put this in my film, do you think I’ll get an A?” Izzy thought for a moment. 

“Well, darling, I think everything you make is Oscar worthy.” Clary blushed. 

“I do have the best muse.” 

And, even without the Bigfoot footage, Clary Fray got an A and the best girlfriend on the planet.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed!   
> Come tell me what your favorite cryptid is on tumblr, softdario!


End file.
